Pete Buttigieg is optimistic about his support among black voters. Polls continue to show he shouldn't be.


The Washington Post's polling director is hitting back at Pete Buttigieg's assertion that "the black voters who know me best are supporting me."
Buttigieg made the statement during Tuesday night's Democratic debate in Iowa, after being asked about polls showing that he has next to no support from African Americans. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said that "among elected black officials in my community who have gotten into this race, by far most of them are supporting me." He's also "proud that my campaign is co-chaired by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus" and that he has the backing of prominent black elected officials in Iowa.
The Post's Scott Clement tweeted that Buttigieg's claim that "as African Americans get to know him, he will gain more support" is undercut by a recent Washington Post-Ipsos national poll where he "receives only 3 percent support among black voters who are familiar with him." The poll, published Saturday, also shows Buttigieg standing at "2 percent among Democratic black voters nationally." Former Vice President Joe Biden came out on top of the poll with 48 percent, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 20 percent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Leo XIV vs. Trump: what will first American Pope mean for US Catholics?
Today's Big Question New pope has frequently criticised the president, especially on immigration policy, but is more socially conservative than his predecessor
-
What's going on with the Beckhams?
In the Spotlight From wedding tantrums to birthday snubs, rumours of a family rift are becoming harder to hide
-
Interest rate cut: the winners and losers
The Explainer The Bank of England's rate cut is not good news for everyone
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations